Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-02-07
Tights and Garlic.


The discharge of seventeen Italian
chorus girls of the American Opera
Company at Chicago, few weeks ago.
by Manager Locke. for Incompetence,
recalls an interesting incident. about
these sef-samc girls which occurred in
st. Louis, and which is now made pub
lie for the first Time
On Sunday of the week that the opera
was attracting such large audiences at
Exposition hall several girls went 70
John kernan's place, on Twelfth and
Pine streets, and after hagging an hour
about the price TO be paid contracted
for four rooms, each room TO have two
beds, for which they were to pay S1.15
each for the week. This included gas.
The mother of two of the girls travelled
with them, and for what assistance she
could render the party her room and
board were furnished free. The girls
were assigned to two of the rooms.
Each bed had three occupants, and they
weren't very wide beds, either Those
that couldn't get in bed took 10 the
floor.
After arranging these details the lead
er of the party said:
I'VE have to have cup of tea in the
mornings, and for this carry small
oil-stoye. You have no objection to our
using this, suppose?"
oh, no, replied Herman; that will
be all RICH"
In so readily granting this seemingly
small request the landlord decidedly
put his foot in it. and doomed himself
and wife TO week of unparalleled
harassment. The little oii-stove must
have been made on the duplicate plan,
for it developed into two. one for each
room. and the morning cup of tea
meant three square Italian meals day,
the last being cooked sometime after
midnight Worse than this, each meal
shed thousand smells of its own, and
each smell came to stay. Onions and
garlic, macaroni and cheese, vegetables
fried in olive OIL Goldfish, and other
equally delectable articles of diet Wed
with themselves for the mastery The
contest would no doubt have been in
teresting if human noStrils could have
stood the nauscating odors that hung
around, but 10 one remained to take
the score after the second day. Neigh
bors came in and asked Herman if he
wasn't aware of the fact that it was a
violation OF the law to run glue facto-
ry inside the city limits, and the dead
animal contractor drove all the way
down from north ST. Louis to ascertain
why he hadn't been notified several
weeks before that there was a dead
horse in the ncIghborhood. But ker-
nan was too mad to reply. His marble
top tables were being used for meat
blocks, aud the mantles and window
sills were loaded down with bottles of
olive oil and strings of macaroni.
Even this was not all. The girls did
all their launiry-worS III the rooms.
Every other day they washed their
tights and hung them out OF the win
dows to dry. There they hung, TWEEN
ty-six pairs of tights of every conceiva-
bic color. There were short tights and
long tights. tights for slim limbs, shape
IL limbs, crooked limbs and fat limbs.
1t was breezy week. and the wind
would fill every pair full. and they
would dangle around in sight of the
thousand pedestrians constantly pass
ing. 1t had weird effect Twenty
six human legs without body seemed
to be dancing u ballet in mid-air, and
crowds no doubt would have gathered
and watched this voiceless, bodyless
can-can by the hour had it been healthy
around there, but about the time they
would get good reserved seat on the
curbstone or IL private box on fire.
plug u gust OF wind would bring them
such 4 conglomeration of abominable
smells that they would turn and flee I'M
der the impression that the girls never
washed their feet This superstition did
them an injustice, however, for Herman
SAYS lie saw one of them washing her
feet by the little oil-siove while supper
WAS cooking. After they left the health
department thoroughly fumigated the
premises, and from this time on no
opera companies need ever expect good
accommodations and low rates at ker-
nan s.-.H. Linus Critic.